U.S. patent application number 15/899886 was filed with the patent office on 2018-08-30 for device, system, and method for generating information representing a condition of an automatic door.
This patent application is currently assigned to KONE Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is KONE Corporation. Invention is credited to Jouko KINNARI, Matti LAAKSO, Olli PARVIAINEN.
Application Number | 20180248955 15/899886 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58192174 |
Filed Date | 2018-08-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180248955 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KINNARI; Jouko ; et
al. |
August 30, 2018 |
DEVICE, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR GENERATING INFORMATION REPRESENTING
A CONDITION OF AN AUTOMATIC DOOR
Abstract
A device for generating information representing a condition of
an automatic door includes an accelerometer including at least one
internal buffer and a control unit including at least one processor
and at least one memory. The accelerometer is configured to obtain
and buffer at least one acceleration value representing
acceleration of the automatic door. The at least one processor is
configured to cause the control unit at least to read and store the
obtained at least one acceleration value from the internal buffer
of the accelerometer, and generate at least one piece of
information representing the condition of the automatic door for
communicating the generated at least one piece of information to an
external server. A system and a method for generating information
representing a condition of an automatic door are also
disclosed.
Inventors: |
KINNARI; Jouko; (Helsinki,
FI) ; PARVIAINEN; Olli; (Helsinki, FI) ;
LAAKSO; Matti; (Helsinki, FI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KONE Corporation |
Helsinki |
|
FI |
|
|
Assignee: |
KONE Corporation
Helsinki
FI
|
Family ID: |
58192174 |
Appl. No.: |
15/899886 |
Filed: |
February 20, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/12 20130101;
G08C 17/02 20130101; H04W 84/18 20130101; G07C 9/38 20200101; B66B
13/143 20130101; H04L 12/12 20130101; G08B 13/08 20130101; H04L
67/42 20130101; B66B 5/025 20130101; B66B 5/0025 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/08 20060101
H04L029/08; G08C 17/02 20060101 G08C017/02; G07C 9/00 20060101
G07C009/00; H04L 12/12 20060101 H04L012/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 28, 2017 |
EP |
17158372.7 |
Claims
1. A device for generating information representing a condition of
an automatic door, the device being arranged to the automatic door,
the device comprising: an accelerometer comprising at least one
internal buffer for storing data, the accelerometer being
configured to obtain and buffer at least one acceleration value
representing acceleration of the automatic door; and a control unit
comprising at least one processor and at least one memory for
storing at least one portion of computer program code and any data
values, the at least one processor being configured to cause the
control unit at least to: read and store the obtained at least one
acceleration value from the internal buffer of the accelerometer;
and generate at least one piece of information representing the
condition of the automatic door based on the at least one
acceleration value for communicating the generated at least one
piece of information to an external server.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is
implemented as a system-on-a-chip, SOC.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the accelerometer and
the control unit are configured to be in a sleep mode or in an
active mode independently.
4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the accelerometer is
configured to enter into the active mode from the sleep mode in
response to the at least one acceleration value being defined to
exceed a predefined limit.
5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is
configured to enter into the active mode from the sleep mode in
response to receiving a first control signal generated by the
accelerometer.
6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the first control
signal is triggered according to a predefined time scheme or in
response to buffering a predefined amount of information in the
internal buffer of the accelerometer.
7. The device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is
further configured to enter back into the sleep mode from the
active mode, after generating the at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door.
8. The device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit and
the accelerometer are configured to enter back into the sleep mode
in response to a second control signal generated by the control
unit, wherein the second control signal is triggered in response to
a detection of a low acceleration activity.
9. The device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is
configured to enter into an active mode from the sleep mode and to
communicate the generated at least one piece of information to the
external server according to a predefined time scheme.
10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one piece
of information representing the condition of the automatic door is
at least one of the following: maximum peak-to-peak acceleration,
standard deviation of acceleration, root-mean-square of
acceleration, duration of each movement state, number of movements
in open direction, number of movements in closed direction, number
of re-openings, maximum acceleration value.
11. A system for generating information representing a condition of
an automatic door, the system comprising: the device according to
claim 1 arranged to the automatic door; and an external server,
wherein the device is configured to: communicate the generated at
least one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door to the external server directly, or communicate the
generated at least one piece of information representing the
condition of the automatic door to the external server through a
gateway device or an ad hoc network node wherein the gateway device
or the ad hoc network node is configured to buffer the at least one
piece of information or to combine the at least one piece of
information with an additional piece of information; and wherein
the external server is configured to receive and store the at least
one piece of information.
12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the external server
is further configured to: compare the received at least one piece
of information representing the condition of the automatic door to
a corresponding previously stored at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door; and generate
information indicating a failure or abnormal event of the automatic
door in response to a detection that the received at least one
piece of information representing the condition of the automatic
door deviates from the corresponding previously stored at least one
piece of information representing the condition of the automatic
door over a predefined limit.
13. A method for generating information representing a condition of
an automatic door for the device of claim 1, the device comprising
an accelerometer and a control unit, the method comprising the
steps of: obtaining at least one acceleration value representing
acceleration of the automatic door and buffering the obtained at
least one acceleration value to an internal buffer of the
accelerometer by the accelerometer; reading and storing the
obtained at least one acceleration value from the internal buffer
of the accelerometer by the control unit; and generating at least
one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door based on the at least one acceleration value by the
control unit.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the method comprises
that the accelerometer and control unit are in a sleep mode or in
an active mode independently.
15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the method comprises
entering the accelerometer into the active mode from the sleep mode
in response to defining that the at least one acceleration value
exceeds a predefined limit.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the method comprises
entering the control unit into the active mode from the sleep mode
in response to receiving a first control signal generated by the
accelerometer.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the method further
comprises triggering the first control signal according to a
predefined time scheme or in response to buffering a predefined
amount of information in the internal buffer of the
accelerometer.
18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the method further
comprises entering the control unit back into the sleep mode from
the active mode, after generating the at least one piece of
information representing the condition of the automatic door.
19. The method according to claim 14, wherein the method further
comprises entering the control unit and the accelerometer back into
the sleep mode in response to a second control signal generated by
the control unit, wherein the second control signal is triggered in
response to detecting a low acceleration activity.
20. The method according to claim 13, the method further
comprising: communicating the generated at least one piece of
information to an external server directly, or communicating the
generated at least one piece of information from the device to the
external server through a gateway device or an ad hoc network node,
wherein the gateway device or the ad hoc network node buffers the
at least one piece of information or combines the at least one
piece of information with an additional piece of information.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention concerns in general the technical field of
automatic door technology. Especially the invention concerns
observation of an operation of automatic doors.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Automatic doors may be used in a variety of environments,
such as in elevators and in buildings. The automatic door refers to
door solutions in which the door is configured to be operated
without specific action by a user of a door. Information about the
condition of an automatic door, such as state, movement, and/or
existence of a defect of the automatic door, is important for many
reasons, for example for safety reasons. The information about the
condition of the automatic gives advantageous information about the
operation of the door.
[0003] According to known solutions the information about the
condition of the automatic door may be obtained substantially
accurately from the control system of the door. For example in an
elevator environment, the information about the condition of the
door may be obtained from the elevator control system. However, if
the access to the control system of the door is blocked or some
other way unavailable for example due to unknown interface or
protocol, the information about the condition of the door cannot be
obtained from the control system of the door. In that case other
solutions for obtaining the information need to be found.
[0004] Hence, there is need to develop further solutions to obtain
information about the condition of the automatic door, especially
when the access to the door control unit is unavailable.
SUMMARY
[0005] An objective of the invention is to present a device, a
system and a method for generating information representing a
condition of an automatic door. Another objective of the invention
is that the device, the system, and the method for generating
information representing a condition of an automatic door enable
retrofitting into an already existing automatic door system.
[0006] The objectives of the invention are reached by a device, a
system, and a method as defined by the respective independent
claims.
[0007] According to a first aspect, a device for generating
information representing a condition of an automatic door is
provided, wherein the device is arranged to the automatic door,
wherein the device comprising: an accelerometer comprising at least
one internal buffer for storing data, the accelerometer is
configured to obtain and buffer at least one acceleration value
representing acceleration of the automatic door; and a control unit
comprising at least one processor and at least one memory for
storing at least one portion of computer program code and any data
values, the at least one processor is configured to cause the
control unit at least to perform: read and store the obtained at
least one acceleration value from the internal buffer of the
accelerometer, and generate at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door based on the at
least one acceleration value for communicating the generated at
least one piece of information to an external server.
[0008] The control unit may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip,
SOC.
[0009] Furthermore, the accelerometer and the control unit are
configured to be in a sleep mode or in an active mode
independently.
[0010] Furthermore, the accelerometer may be configured to enter
into the active mode from the sleep mode in response to that the at
least one acceleration value is defined to exceed a predefined
limit.
[0011] Additionally, the control unit may be configured to enter
into the active mode from the sleep mode in response to receiving a
control signal generated by the accelerometer.
[0012] The first control signal may be triggered according to a
predefined time scheme or in response to buffering a predefined
amount of information in the internal buffer of the
accelerometer.
[0013] Furthermore, the control unit may further be configured to
enter back into the sleep mode from the active mode, after
generating the at least one piece of information representing the
condition of the automatic door.
[0014] Alternatively or in additionally, the control unit and the
accelerometer may be configured to enter back into the sleep mode
in response to a second control signal generated by the control
unit, wherein the second control signal may be triggered in
response to a detection of a low acceleration activity.
[0015] Alternatively or in addition, the control unit may be
configured to enter into an active mode from the sleep mode and to
communicate the generated at least one piece of information to the
external server according to a predefined time scheme.
[0016] The at least one piece of information representing the
condition of the automatic door may be at least one of the
following: maximum peak-to-peak acceleration, standard deviation of
acceleration, root-mean-square of acceleration, duration of each
movement state, number of movements in open direction, number of
movements in closed direction, number of re-openings, maximum
acceleration value.
[0017] According to a second aspect, a system for generating
information representing a condition of an automatic door is
provided, wherein the system comprises a device described above
arranged to the automatic door, and an external server, wherein the
device is configured to communicate the generated at least one
piece of information representing the condition of the automatic
door to the external server directly; or communicate the generated
at least one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door to the external server through a gateway device or
an ad hoc network node, wherein the gateway device or the ad hoc
network node is configured to buffer the at least one piece of
information or to combine the at least one piece of information
with an additional piece of information; and wherein the external
server is configured to receive and store the at least one piece of
information.
[0018] The external server may further be configured to: compare
the received at least one piece of information representing the
condition of the automatic door to a corresponding previously
stored at least one piece of information representing the condition
of the automatic door; and generate information indicating a
failure or abnormal event of the automatic door in response to a
detection that the received at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door deviates from the
corresponding previously stored at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door over a predefined
limit.
[0019] According to a third aspect, a method for generating
information representing a condition of an automatic door for a
device described above is provided, the device comprises an
accelerometer and a control unit, wherein the method comprising:
obtaining at least one acceleration value representing acceleration
of the automatic door and buffering the obtained at least one
acceleration value to an internal buffer of the accelerometer by
the accelerometer; reading and storing the obtained at least one
acceleration value from the internal buffer of the accelerometer by
the control unit; and generating at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door based on the at
least one acceleration value by the control unit.
[0020] Moreover, the method may further comprise that the
accelerometer and the control unit are in a sleep mode or in an
active mode independently.
[0021] Furthermore, the method may further comprise entering the
accelerometer into the active mode from the sleep mode in response
to defining that the at least one acceleration value exceeds a
predefined limit.
[0022] Additionally, the method may further comprise entering the
control unit into the active mode from the sleep mode in response
to receiving a first control signal generated by the
accelerometer.
[0023] The method further may comprise triggering the first control
signal according to a predefined time scheme or in response to
buffering a predefined amount of information in the internal buffer
of the accelerometer.
[0024] The method may further comprise entering the control unit
back into the sleep mode from the active mode, after generating the
at least one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door.
[0025] Alternatively or in addition, the method may further
comprise entering the control unit and the accelerometer back into
the sleep mode in response to a second control signal generated by
the control unit, wherein the second control signal may be
triggered in response to detecting a low acceleration activity.
[0026] The method may further comprise: communicating the generated
at least one piece of information to an external server directly;
or communicating the generated at least one piece of information
from the device to the external server through a gateway device or
an ad hoc network node, wherein the gateway device or the ad hoc
network node buffers the at least one piece of information or
combines the at least one piece of information with an additional
piece of information.
[0027] The exemplary embodiments of the invention presented in this
patent application are not to be interpreted to pose limitations to
the applicability of the appended claims. The verb "to comprise" is
used in this patent application as an open limitation that does not
exclude the existence of also un-recited features. The features
recited in depending claims are mutually freely combinable unless
otherwise explicitly stated.
[0028] The novel features which are considered as characteristic of
the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims.
The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its
method of operation, together with additional objectives and
advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following
description of specific embodiments when read in connection with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0029] The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of
example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the
accompanying drawings.
[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates schematically an example of the device
according to the invention.
[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates schematically an example of the
accelerometer of the device according to the invention.
[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates schematically an example of the control
unit of the device according to the invention.
[0033] FIG. 4A illustrates schematically an example of the system
according to the invention.
[0034] FIG. 4B illustrates schematically another example of the
system according to the invention.
[0035] FIG. 5 illustrates schematically an example of the method
according to the invention.
[0036] FIG. 6 illustrates schematically another example of the
method according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS
[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates schematically a simple example of a
device 100 for generating information representing condition of an
automatic door according to the invention. In the context of this
application the condition of the automatic door may refer for
example to a state, movement, existence of defects, such as failure
or abnormal event, of the automatic door. The device 100 comprises
an accelerometer 102 and a control unit 104. Furthermore, the
device 100 may comprise an energy storage 106. The energy storage
106 may be a battery, for example. The device 100 may be fixed to
the automatic door, for example to any moving part of the automatic
door, by any known fixing means. Some non-limiting examples of the
fixing means may be at least one of the following: screw, bolt,
tape, cable tie, hook and loop fastener. The moving part of the
automatic door to which the device 100 may be fixed, may be for
example, door panel or hanger plate. The accelerometer 102 in the
context of this application refers to any sensor suitable for
detect physical acceleration.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates schematically an example of the
accelerometer 102 according to the invention. The accelerometer 102
comprises at least one internal buffer 202 for storing any data.
Furthermore, the accelerometer 102 may comprise at least one
processor 204, a communication interface 206, a user interface 208,
and sensor relating devices 210. The mentioned elements may be
communicatively coupled to each other with e.g. an internal bus.
The sensor related devices 210 may comprise, but are not limited
to, one or more components for obtaining at least one acceleration
value representing acceleration of the automatic door. The
communication interface 206 may provide interface for communication
with any external unit, such as with control unit 104, in order to
exchange pieces of information as will be described later. The
accelerometer 102 is configured to obtain at least one acceleration
value representing acceleration of the automatic door. Furthermore,
the accelerometer 102 is configured to buffer the obtained at least
one acceleration value in the internal buffer 202 of the
accelerometer 102. The at least one acceleration value may be for
example, magnitude of the acceleration, direction of the
acceleration as a vector quantity, vibration, shock.
[0039] FIG. 3 illustrates schematically an example of the control
unit 104 according to the invention. The control unit 104 comprises
at least one processor 302 and at least one memory 304 for storing
at least one portion of computer program code 305a-305n and any
data values. Furthermore, the control unit 104 may comprise a
communication interface 306 in order to provide interface for
communication with any external unit, such as accelerometer 102
database and/or external systems, such as external server, gateway
device, or ad hoc network node in order to exchange pieces of
information as will be described later. Furthermore, the control
unit 104 may comprise a user interface 308. The mentioned elements
may be communicatively coupled to each other with e.g. an internal
bus. For sake of clarity, the processor herein refers to any unit
suitable for processing information and control the operation of
the control unit 104, among other tasks. The operations may also be
implemented with a microcontroller solution with embedded software.
Similarly, the memory 304 is not limited to a certain type of
memory only, but any memory type suitable for storing the described
pieces of information may be applied in the context of the present
invention.
[0040] The processor 302 of the control unit 104 is at least
configured to implement at least some operations of the control
unit 104 and method steps as will be described later. The
implementation of the method and operations of the control unit 104
may be achieved by arranging the processor 302 to execute at least
some portion of computer program code 305a-305n stored in the
memory 304 causing the processor 302, and thus the control unit
104, to implement one or more operations of the control unit 104
and method steps as will be described later. The processor 302 is
thus arranged to access the memory 304 and retrieve and store any
information therefrom and thereto. Moreover, the processor 302 is
configured to control the communication through the communication
interface 306 with any external unit, such as with external
server.
[0041] The control unit 104 is at least configured to read and
store the obtained at least one acceleration value from the
internal buffer 202 of the accelerometer 102. Moreover, the control
unit 104 is configured to generate at least one piece of
information representing the condition of the automatic door based
on the at least one acceleration value for communicating the
generated at least one piece of information to an external server
402. According to one embodiment of the invention the control unit
106 may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip, SOC. SOC herein
refers to an integrated circuit that integrates all components of
the system into a single chip. One advantage of implementing the
control unit as a SOC is low power consumption.
[0042] The at least one piece of information representing the
condition of the automatic door may be at least one of the
following: maximum peak-to-peak acceleration, standard deviation of
acceleration, root-mean-square of acceleration, duration of each
movement state, number of movements in open direction, number of
movements in closed direction, number of re-openings, maximum
acceleration value. These are only non-limiting examples of the at
least one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door.
[0043] The accelerometer 102 may further be configured to be in a
sleep mode or in an active mode. In addition, the control unit 104
may further be configured to be in a sleep mode or in an active
mode. Moreover, the accelerometer 102 and the control unit 104 may
be configured to be in the sleep mode or in the active mode
independently. In this context with the term independently is meant
that the accelerometer 102 and the control unit 104 do not have to
be in a same mode at a same time. For example the accelerometer 102
may be in the active mode and at the same time the control unit 104
may be in the sleep mode. However, the accelerometer 102 and the
control unit 104 may also be in the same mode at the same time.
When the accelerometer 102 or the control unit 104 is in the active
mode, it may be configured to perform any operation directed to it.
When the accelerometer 102 or the control unit 104 is in the sleep
mode, it will enter into a power save mode by turning off most of
the electronic components in order to consume as low power as
possible. As an initial state both the accelerometer 102 and the
control unit 104 may be in a sleep mode.
[0044] Furthermore, the accelerometer 102 may be configured to
enter into the active mode from the sleep mode in response to that
the at least one acceleration value is defined to exceed a
predefined limit. The predefined limit may be for example an
acceleration value representing the beginning of the movement of
the door in order to enable the accelerometer to start obtaining
the acceleration values when the door starts to move. Alternatively
the limit may also be defined to be any other acceleration value.
According to another example the limit may be defined to refer to
an acceleration value representing a vibration indicating for
example vandalism. In other words if vandalism, such as the door is
kicked, is directed to the door, the accelerometer is configured to
enter into the active mode in order to obtain the at least one
acceleration value representing the vibration caused by the
vandalism. This enables that the device 104 may be used to detect,
i.e. monitor, also vandalism directed to the automatic door.
[0045] Alternatively or in addition, the control unit 104 may be
configured to enter into the active mode from the sleep mode in
response to receiving a first control signal generated by the
accelerometer 102. The first control signal may be triggered
according to a predefined time scheme. Alternatively or in
addition, the first control signal may be triggered in response to
buffering a predefined amount of information in the internal buffer
202 of the accelerometer 102. The predefined amount of information
in the internal buffer 202 may be any amount of information that
may be buffered in the internal buffer 202. For example the control
signal may be triggered, when the internal buffer 202 of the
accelerometer 102 is defined to be full or almost full.
[0046] Furthermore, the control unit 106 may be configured to enter
back into the sleep mode from the active mode after generating the
at least one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door.
[0047] According to one embodiment of the invention the control
unit 104 and the accelerometer 102 may be configured to enter back
into the sleep mode from the active mode in response to a second
control signal generated by the control unit 106. The second
control signal may be triggered in response to a detection of low
acceleration activity. The detection of low acceleration activity
may be for example an acceleration value representing the ending of
the movement of the automatic door in order to enable the
accelerometer 102 to stop obtaining the acceleration values when
the door ends its movement. Alternatively, the detection of low
acceleration activity may also be defined to be a detection of any
other acceleration value representing substantially low
acceleration indicating that the detected movement of the door is
ending or ended.
[0048] The invention described above relates also a system 400 for
generating information representing a condition of an automatic
door. The system 400 comprises the above described device 100 and
an external server 402. In FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematically
illustrated some examples of the system 400 according to the
invention.
[0049] As described above the control unit 104 of the device 100
generates the at least one piece of information, which may be
communicated to the external server 402. The control unit 104 may
be configured to communicate the generated at least one piece of
information to the external server 402 according to a predefined
time scheme. This means that the information is not communicated
from the control unit 106 to the external server 402 continually.
Instead the information may be communicated from the control unit
106 to the external server 402 at a time instant, which the control
unit 106 defines to be suitable for the communication. These
suitable time instants for communication between the control unit
104 and the external server 402 may be for example one of the
following: [0050] when no data is communicated from the
accelerometer 102 to the control unit 104, [0051] when the control
unit 104 is in active mode [0052] at regular time intervals, or
[0053] at irregular time intervals.
[0054] Communicating the information from the control unit 104 to
the external server 402 according to the predefined time scheme
enables preserving energy of the energy storage 106 of the device
100. In case that the control unit 104 is in the sleep mode, the
control unit 104 may be configured to enter into an active mode
from the sleep mode in order to communicate the generated at least
one piece of information to the external server 402.
[0055] Furthermore, the control unit 104 of the device 100 may be
configured to communicate the generated at least one piece of
information representing the condition of the automatic door
directly to the external server 402 as illustrated in FIG. 4A.
Alternatively, the control unit 104 of the device 100 may be
configured to communicate the generated at least one piece of
information representing the condition of the automatic door to the
external server 402 through a gateway device or an ad hoc network
node 404 as illustrated in FIG. 4B. In the context of this
application the gateway device refers to a network node suitable
connecting two or more networks that may use different protocols.
Furthermore, in the context of this application the ad hoc network
node refers to a network node of a network that is a decentralized
type of network, wherein each node participates in routing by
forwarding data for other nodes. The gateway device or the ad hoc
network node 404 may be configured to buffer the at least one piece
of information or to combine the at least one piece of information
with an additional piece of information. Furthermore, the external
server 402 is configured to receive and store the at least one
piece of information.
[0056] The communication between the device 100 and the external
server 402 may be based on any known wired or wireless
communication. If the information is communicated from the device
100 to the external server 402 through the gateway device or the ad
hoc network node 404, the communication between the device 100 and
the gateway device or the ad hoc network node 404 is based on
wireless communication and the communication between the gateway
device or the ad hoc network node 404 and the external server 402
may be based on any wired or wireless communication. The wireless
communication between the device 100 and the external server 402,
between the device 100 and the gateway device or ad hoc network
node 404, or between the gateway device or ad hoc network node 404
and external server 402 may be based on for example at least one of
the following wireless communication technologies: Bluetooth, WiFi,
Cellular network, Zigbee, Lora, ANT. Some non-limiting examples of
the external server 402 may be remote server, database server,
mobile server, cloud server.
[0057] In addition to the above described the external server 402
may be further configured to compare the received at least one
piece of information representing the condition of the automatic
door to a corresponding previously stored at least one piece of
information representing the condition of the automatic door.
Furthermore, in response to a detection that the received at least
one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door deviates from the corresponding previously stored at
least one piece of information representing the condition of the
automatic door over a predefined limit the external server 402 may
be configured to generate information indicating a failure or
abnormal event of the automatic door. The above mentioned deviation
may be a sudden change in one or more of the at least one piece of
information representing the condition of the automatic door, which
may indicate a failure or abnormal event in the operation of the
automatic door. For example a small piece of stone that is stuck in
a sill groove of the door may cause a sudden increase in horizontal
vibration. Alternatively or in addition, the above mentioned
deviation may be a trend, i.e. gradual change, in one or more of
the at least one piece of information representing the condition of
the automatic door, which may also indicate a failure or abnormal
event in the operation of the automatic door. For example a gradual
dirt accumulation on top track of the door may cause a gradual
increase in vertical vibrations. Below some non-limiting examples
of failures are described: [0058] poor installation quality may
lead to shaking of at least one door panel or hanger plate, [0059]
wearout of rollers or accumulation of dirt in rollers or rolling
surfaces in door mechanism may lead to shaking of at least one door
panel or hanger plate, [0060] dirt, debris, or failed components in
sill or elsewhere in the door mechanism may lead to reopenings of
the door, [0061] failure of curtain of light may lead to reopenings
of the door, [0062] failure of at least one mechanical component
that lead to triggering of closing force limiter may lead to
reopenings of the door.
[0063] Alternatively or in addition some non-limiting examples of
abnormal events may be such as vandalism, door opening during
hoisting.
[0064] The failures may be functional failures and/or probable
failures. In the context of this application functional failure may
be a state where the automatic door has failed to provide its main
functions, such as moving open, moving closed, keeping users save,
due to a failure in the door system. The probable failure, in turn,
in the context of this application means a state where the
automatic door is operating functionally, such as moving open,
moving closed, keeping users safe, but some beginning failure is
starting to occur. One example of possible failure may be for
example shaking of automatic door due to rollers wearing out.
[0065] The indication of the failure or abnormal event may be a
signal transmitted to a computing unit, such as service unit,
service center, service company or similar. In response to
receiving the signal indicating the failure or abnormal event the
computing unit may be configured to instruct maintenance personnel
to solve the failure or abnormal event, for example. Alternatively
or in addition, the indication may be for example a visual
indication, sound indication for a service or maintenance
personnel. The indication may also carry or comprise information
about at least one of the following: type of the failure or
abnormal event, reason for the failure or abnormal event, location
of the failure or abnormal event. Alternatively or in addition, the
indication may enable defining at least one of the following: type
of the failure or abnormal event, reason for the failure or
abnormal event, location of the failure or abnormal event. This
enables that functional failures of the door may at least partly be
avoided by scheduling maintenance actions to the door before
defined probable failure turns into a functional failure.
Alternatively or in addition, this enables that in case of
functional failure occurs information about the functional failure
may be provided in order to solve the failure quickly, which in
turn leads to several advantages, such as reducing at least partly
downtime of the door, reducing at least partly disruption and cost
of unplanned maintenance actions, and enabling implementation of
usage- and/or condition-based maintenance schemes.
[0066] Next an example of a method according to the invention is
described by referring to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates
the invention as a flow chart. As discussed the device according to
the invention comprises an accelerometer and a control unit being
in a sleep mode or in an active mode independently. The
accelerometer obtains at least one acceleration value representing
acceleration of the automatic door and buffers the obtained at
least one acceleration value to an internal buffer of the
accelerometer at the step 502. The control unit, in turn, reads the
obtained at least one acceleration value from the internal buffer
of the accelerometer and stores the at least one acceleration value
into the at least one memory of the control unit at the step 504.
After reading and storing the at least one acceleration value, the
control unit generates at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door based on the at
least one acceleration value by the control unit at the step
506.
[0067] As discussed the accelerometer and the control unit may be
in a sleep mode or in active mode independently. Next will be
described some examples how the accelerometer and/or the control
unit may change its state from the sleep mode to the active mode
and vice versa. These examples are schematically illustrated in
FIG. 6 as a flow chart. The accelerometer may enter into the active
mode from the sleep mode, which may be the initial state as
described earlier, in response to defining that the at least one
acceleration value exceeds a predefined limit at the step 610
before the step 502. Alternatively or in addition, the control unit
may enter into the active mode from the sleep mode in response to
receiving a first control signal generated by the accelerometer at
the step 620 between steps 502 and 504. According to an example the
first control signal may be triggered according to a predefined
time scheme. Alternatively or in addition, the first control signal
may be triggered in response to buffering a predefined amount of
information in the internal buffer of the accelerometer.
Furthermore, if the control unit detects a low acceleration
activity at the step 630, the control unit may generate a second
control signal. The control unit and the accelerometer may enter
back into the sleep mode in response to the second control signal
generated by the control unit at the step 640. Alternatively, the
control unit may enter back into the sleep mode from the active
mode, after generating the at least one piece of information
representing the condition of the automatic door at the step 650 in
order to wait a new instruction to enter back into active mode, for
example in response to the first control signal as described
earlier.
[0068] As described the control unit may generate the at least one
piece of information. Furthermore, the control unit may communicate
the generated at least one piece of information to an external
server according to a predefined time scheme as described earlier.
According one embodiment of the invention the control unit may
communicate the generated at least one piece of information
directly to the external server. Alternatively or in addition, the
control unit may communicate the generated at least one piece of
information to the external server through a gateway device or an
ad hoc network node. Furthermore, the gateway device or the ad hoc
network node may buffer the at least one piece of information or
combine the at least one piece of information with an additional
piece of information. In case that the control unit is in the sleep
mode the control unit enters into an active mode from the sleep
mode before communicating the generated at least one piece of
information to the external server.
[0069] The above described device 100, system 400 and method
according to the invention may be used especially, when the access
to a door control system is not available, for example due to
unknown interface or protocol in order to obtain information
representing a condition of an automatic door. Thus, the above
described, device and system may be implemented as a retrofitted
device in an already existing automatic door system regardless of
the producer of the automatic door system, wherein the automatic
door system may comprise at least the automatic door and the door
control system. This means that the device, system, and method
according to invention may be arranged to any automatic door for
generating information representing a condition of an automatic
door. Alternatively, the device, system, and method according to
the invention may be used to generate additional condition
information of an automatic door in addition to the information
obtained by means of the door control system. Furthermore, the
ability to retrofit the device and the system according to the
invention to any automatic door enables also condition-based
maintenance to automatic doors of varying technical configurations
and ages.
[0070] The device 100, the system 400, and the method according to
the invention described above may be implemented in any automatic
door environment. Some non-limiting examples of implementation
environments are at least the following: elevator environment,
building environment.
[0071] The use of the internal buffer 202 of the accelerometer 102
for buffering the obtained at least one acceleration value enables
substantially low current consumption, even as low as a few
microamperes. In comparison, if the internal buffer 202 of the
accelerometer 102 is not used, but instead the obtained at least
one acceleration value is transmitted continuously in real time to
the control unit 104 the current consumption is significantly
higher.
[0072] Furthermore, as described earlier the accelerometer 102 and
the control unit 104 are configured to be in a sleep mode or in an
active mode. The ability to enter the accelerometer 102 and/or the
control unit 104 into the sleep mode where appropriate enables
significant savings in the current consumption in comparison to
having the accelerometer 102 and control unit 104 in the active
mode constantly. For example, as described above the control unit
104 may be entered into the active mode only for reading the
acceleration values from the accelerometer 102, generating the at
least one piece of information, and/or communicating the generated
at least one piece of information to an external server 402 and the
control unit 104 may be entered into the sleep mode during the rest
of the time. Similarly, the accelerometer 102 may be entered into
the active mode, when it detects that the automatic door starts to
move and the accelerometer 102 may be entered back into the sleep
mode, when it is detected that the movement of the automatic door
is ended. Alternatively or in addition, the accelerometer 102 may
be entered into the active mode in response to detection of
vandalism directed to the automatic door as described earlier.
Moreover, the above mentioned savings in the current consumption
increases the lifetime of the battery.
[0073] The specific examples provided in the description given
above should not be construed as limiting the applicability and/or
the interpretation of the appended claims. Lists and groups of
examples provided in the description given above are not exhaustive
unless otherwise explicitly stated.
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